Receiving Reports from a Billing Service

It has been my experience as a consultant to many physical therapy private practices who outsource their billing and collections to a billing service that they have often had difficulty obtaining useful reports which help them understand their financial picture. And sometimes they have even had difficulty receiving any useful reports on a timely basis. Unfortunately, this really puts the owner behind the eight ball when it comes to their ability to understand the actual financial scene of their practice, predict the future, and have any level of accountability of the billing service. So what reporting should be expected from a billing service for a physical therapy office? First, and foremost, it is my opinion that the reports should be whatever you want them to be. You have contracted for this service and so it would seem logical that you should receive whatever information you have requested. You may not be able to request specific formatting, but the content is yours. Stick to your guns and ensure that you are receiving what you need and want. Secondly, you should be receiving all of your requested reports in a very timely manner. I have found that most billing services provide end of month reports and that is what most owners have come to expect. Well, end of month reports keep our accountants happy and do provide some timeliness, but how real are monthly reports related to your stream of cash flow? Don’t you have bills due to be paid throughout the month? Don’t you have to make payroll multiple times per month? You have financial deadlines to meet much more frequently than on a monthly basis. And we all know that we tend to work harder as we near a deadline. This is just increasing the level of necessity. So with that in mind, wouldn’t it make sense to receive weekly reports through a physical therapy billing software? This would provide you greater predictability to know how much money was going to be available when. This would probably also increase the level of accountability of your billing service since each report serves as a report card as to how well they are doing their job. And it also allows one to better evaluate any changes in operation being implemented rather than having to wait another complete month or longer to get the results and determine if improvements have actually occurred. If you are currently outsourcing your physical therapy billing and collections or are considering going that route, remember that you are the boss. You have contracted with that service to help you and your practice. Ensure that you are getting the reports you need and want on a timely basis.